RJD chief Lalu Prasad blamed Saturday night’s stampede at the New Delhi railway station on a failure to manage the crowd that was heading to the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayargraj, and courted controversy by saying that the Kumbh was “meaningless”.
“Kumbh ka koi matlab hai? Faltu hai (Kumbh is meaningless),” Lalu said Sunday. Expressing condolences to the families of the stampede victims, he also demanded the resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
At least 18 people were killed in the stampede and several of the victims were from Bihar. Lalu, a former Railway minister, said the stampede was the result of “mismanagement of Railways”.
His remarks on the Kumbh prompted sharp reactions from NDA leaders.
BJP national spokesperson Guru Prakash Paswan told The Indian Express: “Kumbh is a matter of faith for crores of Hindus, Lalu Prasad has hurt the sentiments of Hindus by making uncharitable comments on one of the holiest congregation of humankind. He must apologise without delay.”
JD(U) chief spokesperson, Neeraj Kumar, said: “Lalu Prasad should have refrained from such statements. But it is in his character to attack people’s faith from time to time. Several socialist leaders and their families took the holy dip in the Sangam. Was it this also ‘faltu’?”
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